Misdirection & Magic

In the world of theatrical magic, misdirection can be described as an art of deceit that attracts attention of the audience to a certain thing to distract it from another. Managing audience attention is the aim of all theatre, and is the primary requirement of all magic acts. Whether the magic is of the “pocket trick” variety or an extensive stage production, misdirection is the central key to the success. The term refers to either the effect (the the focus of the observer on an unimportant object) or the sleight-of-hand or patter (the magician’s speech) which creates the illusion.

It’s hard to pinpoint who coined the term, but an early mention of misdirection is found in the writings of an influential performer and author, Nevil Maskelyne. it involves spooking the spectator’s senses, to hide from noticing certain aspects that require secrecy. At the same time, magician and artist Tarbell noted, Nearly the whole art of sleight-of-hand depends on the art of misdirection.

Some magicians who have studied and developed techniques for misdirection includes Malini, David Blaine, Juan Tamariz, Slydini, Tommy Wonder and Dai Vernon.

Henry Hay describes the central act of conjuring as manipulating interest.

Some magicians misdirect audience attention in two primary ways. One leads the audience to look away for a fleeting moment, so that they do not notice a trick or movement. The other approach re-frames the viewers’ perceptions, leading them to believe that an extraneous factor can be a factor in the performance when it really does not have any bearing on the outcome in any way. Dariel Fitzkee notes that The real talent of the magician is in the talent he exhibits in influencing the minds of the viewers. In addition, sometimes, props like a magic wand aids in distraction.

Unless the magician use

Misdirection exploits the limitations of the human mind to create a false picture and memory. The brain of an average spectator can only focus on only one thing at a given time. The magician uses this to influence the viewers’ thoughts or perceptions of sensory input, leading them to false conclusion.

Magicians have debated over the usage of the term, “misdirection,” causing a great deal of discussion about the meaning of it and how it works.

Expert magician Jon Finch

identified a difference between direction and misdirection. One being a negative term as opposed to the other, positive. In the end, he considers both as one thing. If a performer, by some means, has directed the mind of the audience to conclude that he did something which he has not done, he has wrongly led them to believe this which is why he has misdirected them.

Tommy Wonder has pointed out that it’s more effective, from the magician’s viewpoint in focusing on the positive aim of directing the attention of the audience. He states that misdirection is an untrue direction. It implies that attention is diverted away towards something. Through constant use of this phrase, it eventually becomes so ingrained in our minds that we might start to think that misdirection is directing our attention away from rather than towards something.

Tony Slydini said that if the magician believe that, the audience will believe it, and magic is something they don’t observe. The trick is to accept what the magician says and then follow the magician. misdirection website